International Educational Learning:
This response is based on a Japanese documentary about an inspirational teacher named Mr. Kanamori. I talk about how his philosophy is shaped and how he shapes his classroom so that everyone cares about one another. His approaches to different situations were impactful in my own learning on how I’d like to approach teaching.
“Children Full of Life”
Explain Mr. Kanamori’s philosophy of education.
In Mr. Kanamori’s grade 4 class, he has a teaching philosophy centred on trust, respect, and friendship. The narrator describes Mr. Kanamori as a kind, tough, and funny teacher who seems to have a very positive impact on the students. As you can see throughout the video, Mr. Kanamori shows off these things every day in many different ways. I’m not sure how long ago this video was made or whether some of the things he did are still done in today’s world, but I think a lot of what he stands for is something I personally believe in. Obviously, there were a few cultural differences compared to how things are done in Canada, but I think the main thing I found impactful was creating a safe environment where most students cared for one another, with a sense of one big family.
One quote I found in the video that I will take with me is: “You come to school to be happy, everyone must be happy. If one person is unhappy, everyone will be unhappy.” This stuck with me because I never really thought of school this way, and it’s true that if you see others down, sad, or not engaging, it can make the class atmosphere hard to learn in. I also really like how Mr. Kanamori didn’t just stick to individual classroom work. He had the students doing a ton of different outside, hands-on, collaboration activities that students could relate to real life. Making students comfortable seemed to be a big thing in his classroom as well. I noticed how if one or two brave students would get up and read a letter or defend a classmate, more would follow. You could definitely tell that by the end of the year, students were less nervous and genuinely cared for one another, and that’s something I hope I can bring to my future classroom. I think his philosophy, where he is creating an environment where students genuinely care for one another and take pride in their work, life, and relationships, is what the education system should be about.
What resonated with you about his educational philosophy? Why? Be specific about his approach to situations.
As I discussed above, I found that his creation of a sense of family within the classroom resonated most with me. The first example I wanted to use was when the student returned to class after the loss of his grandmother. You could feel the emotion and heartfelt conversations between him and his classmates as they welcomed him back to the class. He was able to share his thoughts and feelings with the class, and other students quickly followed suit. In the sharing, you could see students tearing up as they related to his loss through their own family members. Having the students do this, intentionally or not, helped connect their experiences and create a bond between them.
Another part I thought was interesting was his approach to bullying and misbehaviour. When he noticed some not-so-nice things being written and students being teased over test scores, he was quick to react, taking a firm stance that bullying is wrong and explaining that friends don’t make fun of each other. Eventually, students came forward, but the way he approached finding out who did it over a few days was calming and allowed students to decide to own up to their mistakes instead of interrogating or punishing them. I also thought it was very cool when Yuto, a student in his class, was misbehaving and was not allowed to participate in the raft competition. His fellow students stood up to the teacher and explained why they thought he deserved to participate. You could tell the students really cared for their classmate, even to the point of tears. This is exactly what he wants from his class, and throughout the year, they clearly created a sense of belonging and genuinely cared about one another.
I think the ending captured Mr. Kanamori’s philosophy perfectly when one of the students’ fathers passed away, and you could tell that the students cared deeply about their classmate and friend. They came together and wrote letters to Tsubasa to help cheer him up. As well, they came up with the idea to go out and write a letter to his father and another student’s father who had passed away, telling them how well their children are doing. This moment seemed to capture exactly what Mr. Kanamori’s teaching philosophy of caring for one another and creating an environment where students can be happy and thrive. I hope, as a future educator, I can establish these sorts of things in my classroom to create the kind of environment that Mr. Kanamori created.